Green Bay Packers countdown to NFL football season 2017 – #84, Sterling Sharpe
Sterling Sharpe: A Green Bay Packers HOF-er
The Green Bay Packers selected Sterling Sharpe in the first round (7th overall) of the 1988 NFL Draft, and it turned out to be one of the best draft picks in team history.
The three-time All-Pro and five-time Pro-Bowler, Sharpe was as valuable as they come.
He was a pass-catching machine, regardless of whether his quarterback was Don Majkowski, Randy Wright, Anthony Dilweg, the late Blair Kiel or even that Bear-turned-Packer Mike Tomczak.
But it was when Brett Favre came to town that Sharpe’s real value became evident.
From 1992 to his final season in 1994, Sharpe hauled in 314 of his 595 receptions, with the bulk of them being thrown by Brett Favre.
The shock wave that hit when it was announced that Sharpe would have to retire was significant and put the team in peril of sliding without its best receiver.
We all know that Favre would go on to a Hall of Fame career, but it was Sharpe who was left behind watching teammates and even his own brother, Shannon, elected to the hall.
Many feel Sharpe is worthy, too, and when you look at his career statistics, it’s hard not to argue against that notion.
Consider his production: He caught 90 or more passes in four of his seven seasons in Green Bay. The first came in that magical 1989 season with Majkowski. But it was the 1992 and 1993 seasons when Sharpe really caught fire with Favre at quarterback.
Sharpe had 108 catches in 1992 and then bettered it with 112 in 1993.
During his career, Sharpe caught 595 passes for 8,134 yards (13.7-yard average) and 65 touchdowns. He was consistently around the 60 percent catch ratio.
Simply put, Sharpe will always be remembered as one of the best receivers in Packers history, despite being forced to quit well before his time.
Had he stayed healthy and played another four or five years with Favre, one wonders what his career numbers would have been.
Speculating on numbers is one thing, but had Sharpe and Favre continued down the road together, there is no doubt in my mind that the Packers would have won at least one more Super Bowl and could have had at least a couple of more titles.
Sharpe was that good.
| Game | Game | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rush | Rush | Rush | Rush | Rush | Rush | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Lng | R/G | Y/G | Ctch% | Rush | Yds | Lng | Y/A | Y/G | A/G | YScm | RRTD | Fmb | AV |
| 1988 | 16 | 16 | 55 | 791 | 14.4 | 1 | 51 | 3.4 | 49.4 | 0.0% | 4 | -2 | 5 | -0.5 | -0.1 | 0.3 | 789 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |
| 1989*+ | 16 | 16 | 90 | 1423 | 15.8 | 12 | 79 | 5.6 | 88.9 | 0.0% | 2 | 25 | 26 | 12.5 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 1448 | 12 | 1 | 14 | |
| 1990* | 16 | 16 | 67 | 1105 | 16.5 | 6 | 76 | 4.2 | 69.1 | 0.0% | 2 | 14 | 10 | 7.0 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1119 | 6 | 0 | 9 | |
| 1991 | 16 | 16 | 69 | 961 | 13.9 | 4 | 58 | 4.3 | 60.1 | 0.0% | 4 | 4 | 12 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 965 | 4 | 1 | 9 | |
| 1992*+ | 16 | 16 | 162 | 108 | 1461 | 13.5 | 13 | 76 | 6.8 | 91.3 | 66.7% | 4 | 8 | 14 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1469 | 13 | 2 | 14 |
| 1993*+ | 16 | 16 | 189 | 112 | 1274 | 11.4 | 11 | 54 | 7.0 | 79.6 | 59.3% | 4 | 8 | 5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1282 | 11 | 1 | 15 |
| 1994* | 16 | 16 | 159 | 94 | 1119 | 11.9 | 18 | 49 | 5.9 | 69.9 | 59.1% | 3 | 15 | 8 | 5.0 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1134 | 18 | 1 | 12 |
| Care | 112 | 112 | 510 | 595 | 8134 | 13.7 | 65 | 79 | 5.3 | 72.6 | 23 | 72 | 26 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 8206 | 65 | 9 | 78 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/6/2017.
Next: Top 30 moments in Green Bay Packers franchise history
Packers players to have worn #84 over the past 50 years:
| Player | From | To | AV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jared Abbrederis | 2014 | 2016 | 1 |
| Carroll Dale | 1965 | 1972 | 55 |
| Nolan Franz | 1986 | 1986 | 0 |
| Tory Humphrey | 2006 | 2008 | 1 |
| Lance Kendricks | 2017 | 2017 | |
| Gary Knafelc | 1954 | 1962 | 4 |
| Fred Nixon | 1980 | 1981 | 1 |
| Steve Odom | 1974 | 1979 | 19 |
| Andre Rison | 1996 | 1996 | 2 |
| Bill Schroeder | 1997 | 2001 | 31 |
| Sterling Sharpe | 1988 | 1994 | 69 |
| Wes Smith | 1987 | 1987 | 0 |
| Lenny Taylor | 1984 | 1984 | 0 |
| Javon Walker | 2002 | 2005 | 24 |
| D.J. Williams | 2011 | 2012 | 1 |